Privacy Policy
eteyo is a messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh and through independent relays. It has no accounts and no central message server. This page explains, in plain language, what the app does with information.
The short version
- You do not need an account, phone number or email address to use eteyo.
- We run no message servers and cannot read your chats.
- There are no ads, no analytics and no tracking.
- Your keys and conversation history live on your device.
- Messages sent over the internet travel through independent relays that we do not run.
Who is responsible
eteyo is developed by Kagan Yaldizkaya. Questions about this policy: kyaldizkaya@gmail.com.
What stays on your device
- Your nickname, favorites, blocked people, hidden words and settings.
- Your cryptographic identity keys, in the iOS Keychain.
- Chat history. It is temporary: it is held by the app on your device and is not stored in an eteyo account.
- An encrypted delivery queue for private messages that could not be delivered yet, for up to 24 hours.
- Recent public mesh messages and encrypted envelopes for other people, which your phone may carry for a short time (up to six hours and 24 hours) so nearby networks can reconnect.
- Photos you send or receive, for up to seven days.
Settings → Message storage shows these limits inside the app.
Bluetooth mesh
eteyo uses Bluetooth to find and talk to other devices nearby that speak the same protocol: eteyo, and the open-source bitchat app it is built on. Devices within radio range can tell that such an app is active and can see the nickname you chose, and people using bitchat can exchange messages with you. Bluetooth mesh does not use the internet or Tor.
Location
eteyo asks for your location while you use the app so it can work out which place channels, such as your city, you can join. Your coordinates stay on your device and are not included in messages. A place channel is identified by a geohash code that stands for an area: anyone in that channel, and the relays that carry it, can see that code.
To show a readable place name, iOS asks Apple’s location service to name your approximate location. That request goes to Apple directly, not through Tor, and is skipped when internet delivery is switched off. Apple’s privacy policy applies to it.
Internet delivery, relays and Tor
Messages in place channels, and private messages to people who are not nearby, are delivered through Nostr relays: independent servers that we do not run. eteyo and bitchat share the same protocol and relays, so people using bitchat can send you messages and read place channels too.
- Private messages are end-to-end encrypted. Relays can still see delivery details such as timing, size and the public identifiers used for delivery.
- Place-channel messages are public. Anyone in the channel, and every relay carrying it, can read them.
- Relays decide how long they keep data. We cannot delete anything from a relay or from another person’s device.
- Tor. By default eteyo connects to relays through Tor, which hides your IP address from them. Tor does not hide message timing or size. If Tor cannot connect, internet delivery pauses instead of connecting directly. If you turn Tor off, relays can see your IP address.
- Relay list. The app downloads a list of public relays from a file in the bitchat project's repository on GitHub. With Tor on, that request goes through Tor.
You can turn internet delivery off completely, or turn Tor off, in Settings.
Notifications
Notifications are created on your device. eteyo does not use Apple’s push notification service or any notification server. By default, notification previews are hidden.
Photos and camera
If you attach a photo, it is sent to the people in that conversation by the same routes as text. The camera is used only to scan a verification QR code; those images are not stored or sent.
Reports
If you report a message or a person, the app prepares an email on your device with only the details you choose: the reason, an optional note, the messages you select, the reported person’s nickname and public identifier, and the app version. You see the exact text before sending. The email goes from your own email account, so we receive your email address with the report.
We use reports to review them, to improve the app’s safety tools and to meet legal obligations, and keep them no longer than needed. Where the law requires it, or where someone may be in danger, we may share a report with the authorities.
What we do not collect
eteyo does not collect your contacts, advertising identifiers, analytics or location history, and it contains no advertising or analytics software. If you install through TestFlight, Apple may share crash reports and feedback you choose to send with us under Apple’s own policies.
Your choices
- Internet delivery and Use Tor switch relay features and Tor on or off.
- Hide message previews keeps message text and sender names out of notifications.
- Hidden words hides messages from other people that contain words you choose, and keeps them out of notifications. The list stays on your device and is not sent to anyone.
- Clear chat history removes conversations from your device.
- Emergency wipe also removes identity keys, media, saved places and preferences.
- Block and Report are available on every message and profile.
Deleting the app removes its data from your device, but items in the iOS Keychain can outlast an app deletion. Use Emergency wipe first if you want your identity keys gone too. None of these can erase copies held by other people or by independent relays.
Security
Private chats use end-to-end encryption (the Noise protocol). No system is perfectly secure. When identity matters, verify a contact in person by comparing security codes or scanning their QR code.
Children
eteyo is not directed at children. Use it only if you meet the minimum age shown for eteyo in the App Store and where you live.
Your rights
Because we hold no account and cannot read your chats, there is little personal information we can access. For reports we have received, you can ask us to access, correct or delete the personal information we hold about you, and you can complain to your local data protection authority. Where data protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on our legitimate interest in keeping eteyo safe, and on legal obligations.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, tell you in the app.